New Delhi: The union cabinet on Tuesday approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1A, which will cover a length of 22.878 km with 22 stations, an official statement said.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The cost of the project will be Rs.6,928 crore which will be supported by the central government with Rs.1,300 crore in the form of equity and subordinate debt.

The project, stretching from the Chowdhary Charan Singh Airport to the Munshi Pulia, will be implemented by Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC), which will be reconstituted into a 50:50 jointly-owned company of the central government and Uttar Pradesh government.

Out of the total route length, the elevated stretch will be 19.438 km while underground route length will be 3.440 km. It will have 19 elevated and three underground metro stations.

The project will come under the legal framework of the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, and the Railways Act, 1989, as amended from time to time.

Lucknow has been experiencing mounting pressure on its transport infrastructure. The population of Lucknow Metropolitan Area is over 50 lakhs, and the city has 14.24 lakh vehicles, 80 percent of them being two wheelers and 14 percent cars. The city is witnessing an annual growth of 8.35 percent in vehicular population.